Sociology with Criminology

Explore how societies are organised, and how people are united and divided. Within the context of modern forms of power, examine the nature of crime and criminality from a critical, sociological perspective.

Why study BA Sociology with Criminology at Goldsmiths

• You'll be taught by researchers at the cutting edge of criminological and sociological research on urban crime, control and security, and globalisation and crime.

• As part of a tight-knit group of students, you'll benefit from the support and expertise of your teachers throughout your degree.

• This Sociology with Criminology degree brings issues of social inequality and social justice to the foreground. You will learn how ‘race’, gender, class and nationality connect to crime and control.

• We are international in our outlook: students learn about crime and control in the UK and beyond.

• You’ll be encouraged to take on a work placement that matches your interests and aspirations. You could find yourself supporting a victim of crime, attending court, or mentoring young people.

• Based in New Cross, a changing area of south London, we’ll take you on walking tours of the local area so you’ll be able to see how theories learnt in lectures apply to the local community.

• Studying at Goldsmiths means you’ll study in one of the world’s leading sociology departments. We've been rated top 20 in the UK for for Sociology in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

Year 1
The first year of this programme will introduce you to sociological knowledge and training, but it will also offer an understanding of criminology in the context of the nation-state.

You will take the following compulsory modules:
Modern Knowledge, Modern Power
Methods of Worldmaking 1
Crime, Control and the State
Culture and Society 1A
Culture and Society 1B
Imaginative Criminology

Year 2
The second year will give you the chance to explore crime and criminology in a global context, considering crime and global inequality, migration, international relations and trade, and state crimes and human rights. This learning will help to frame your third-year dissertation research.

You study the following compulsory modules, including The Goldsmiths Elective. This module is interdisciplinary, and gives you the opportunity to study another discipline from a list of relevant modules in other departments across the University.
Methods of Worldmaking 2
Crimes Against Humanity
Criminal Justice in Context
Philosophy and Methodology of Social Science
The Goldsmiths Elective

You'll then take 2 optional modules (30 credits) from across the Department of Sociology. You may also choose to complete the Goldsmiths Project module, which allows you to work on a group project with students from other departments to bring about positive societal change.

The list of optional modules is produced annually, and may include the following:
Law and Contemporary Society
Religion, Crime, and Law
The Making of the Modern World
Explaining Crime
Nationalism, Fundamentalism, Cosmopolitanism
Social Change and Political Action
Leisure, Culture and Society
London
Sociology of Culture and Communication
Culture, Representation and Difference
Migration in Context
The Sociology of Intimacy and Personal Life
Food and Taste
Knowledge and Subjectivity
Rationality and Its Discontents: Culture, Politics and Philosophy
The Goldsmiths Project

Year 3
Your final year will be a mixture of compulsory and option modules including an in-depth dissertation in a subject area of your choice.

You will take the following compulsory modules:
Dissertation
Confronting Climate Crisis
Identity and Contemporary Social Theory

You'll then take 4 optional modules (60 credits). This may include a Sociology Work Placement module.

Option modules offered recently include:
Race, Racism and Social Theory
Law, Identity and Ethics
Globalisation, Crime and Justice
Crimes of the Powerful
Privacy, Surveillance and Security
Visual Explorations of the Social World
Childhood Matters: Society, Theory and Culture
Thinking Animals
Migration, Gender and Social Reproduction

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, examinations, group work and projects.